Age. Age classification is based on the age of the person at his or her last birthday as of March 2009. A married couple's age is defined as the age of the husband—unless he is under age 55 and the wife is 55 or older, in which case it is the age of the wife.

Aged unit. With age 55 as the cutoff, aged units are defined as married couples living together—at least one of whom is 55 or older—and nonmarried persons 55 or older.

Marital status. Married persons are married and living with their spouse. Nonmarried persons may be divorced, widowed, never married, separated, or married but living apart from their spouse.

Race. The categories White alone, Black alone, and Asian alone reflect respondents who reported only one race. Because of changes to the race category, data on race are not directly comparable to editions prior to 2002. A person's race is his or her reported race. A married couple's race is defined as the race of the husband.

Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. A married couple is of Hispanic origin if the husband is of Hispanic origin.

Family. A family is a group of two or more people (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such people (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one family.

Social Security beneficiary. A beneficiary may be receiving retired-worker benefits, dependents' or survivor benefits, disability benefits, or transitionally insured benefits.

Asset income. Includes interest, dividends, income from estates or trusts, and net rental income or royalties. Interest income. Interest includes payments people receive (or have credited to their accounts) from bonds, treasury notes, IRAs, certificates of deposit, interest-bearing savings and checking accounts, and all other investments that pay interest. Dividends. Dividends include income people receive from stock holdings and mutual fund shares. The CPS does not include capital gains from the sale of stock holdings as income. Rents, royalties, and estates and trusts. Include net income people receive from the rental of a house, store, or other property, receipts from boarders or lodgers, net royalty income, and periodic payments from estate or trust funds.

Asset Income of Units 65 or Older Table 7.A5 Percentage distribution of recipient units, by marital status and quintile of total money income, 2008

Aged unit asset income (dollars)

All units

Married couples

Nonmarried persons

First

Second

Third

Fourth

Fifth

First

Second

Third

Fourth

Fifth

First

Second

Third

Fourth

Fifth

Total percent

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Loss

1.4

0.5

0.4

0.8

0.8

1.0

0.6

1.1

0.5

1.4

1.3

1.0

0.4

0.2

0.5

1–249

53.6

46.0

29.6

23.6

11.9

41.3

35.4

26.9

16.9

9.2

54.7

55.1

41.9

23.9

15.0

250–499

9.9

9.5

9.0

6.7

4.3

12.2

8.3

5.2

4.8

4.0

11.4

9.4

8.3

8.7

6.4

500–749

7.8

6.2

5.5

5.5

3.3

6.7

6.1

4.2

4.9

2.5

7.8

8.1

4.7

5.8

4.7

750–999

3.5

2.9

3.4

3.9

2.0

6.2

3.3

4.6

3.4

1.3

2.9

3.1

2.9

2.9

2.4

1,000–1,499

7.3

7.6

8.4

7.4

4.8

5.8

9.0

7.5

5.7

4.6

7.9

6.1

8.3

9.6

5.1

1,500–1,999

3.5

5.4

4.1

3.6

2.5

7.9

3.6

3.4

4.4

2.1

2.7

3.6

6.2

2.8

2.5

2,000–2,499

4.7

2.7

5.0

4.1

3.1

3.4

6.9

4.9

4.6

2.9

3.6

4.7

3.1

3.5

2.3

2,500–2,999

1.4

2.5

3.3

2.8

1.8

2.1

3.5

3.4

2.1

1.6

1.4

1.4

2.9

3.1

2.1

3,000–3,999

1.5

6.4

5.6

5.0

3.7

4.2

3.8

7.3

3.9

3.6

1.9

2.4

7.9

6.2

3.2

4,000–4,999

2.4

3.6

5.2

4.5

3.1

4.5

4.1

5.5

4.4

3.3

3.9

1.2

4.7

5.0

2.5

5,000–9,999

2.6

5.8

11.8

13.0

12.1

3.6

11.5

11.8

13.7

11.2

0.6

3.7

7.5

14.0

13.2

10,000–14,999

0.2

0.5

6.6

9.5

7.9

0.8

2.9

7.5

10.9

6.6

0

0.3

1.0

9.9

10.0

15,000–19,999

0

0.3

1.8

4.3

5.3

0.4

0.6

3.9

6.1

5.9

0

0

0.2

3.1

4.5

20,000–24,999

0

0

0.4

2.5

4.4

0

0.4

1.7

3.9

3.8

0

0

0

1.0

4.7

25,000–29,999

0

0

0

0.9

2.6

0

0

0.5

2.3

3.6

0

0

0

0

1.4

30,000–34,999

0

0

0

0.6

1.6

0

0

0.4

2.1

1.7

0

0

0

0

0.9

35,000–39,999

0

0

0

0.7

2.4

0

0

0.2

2.2

1.7

0

0

0

0

2.6

40,000–44,999

0

0

0

0.4

2.1

0

0

0

1.5

2.5

0

0

0

0

1.4

45,000–49,999

0

0

0

0

1.6

0

0

0

1.2

1.7

0

0

0

0

0.7

50,000 or more

0

0

0

0.1

18.6

0

0

0

0.6

25.0

0

0

0

0

14.0

Median asset income (dollars)

195

300

1,022

1,753

8,050

390

700

1,500

3,708

11,270

200

129

463

1,420

5,978

Number (thousands)

1,208

2,383

3,296

4,030

4,804

831

1,376

1,654

1,796

2,109

585

1,023

1,654

2,125

2,568

NOTE: Quintile limits are $12,082, $19,877, $31,303, and $55,889 for all units; $23,637, $35,794, $53,180, and $86,988 for married couples; and $9,929, $14,265, $20,187, and $32,937 for nonmarried persons.

Family Asset Income of Persons 65 or Older Table 7.B7 Percentage distribution of persons in recipient families, by number of persons in family and quintile of per-capita total family money income, 2008

Family asset income (dollars)

Total

First

Second

Third

Fourth

Fifth

Persons in 1-person families

Total percent

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Loss

0.6

1.5

1.0

0.2

0.3

0.6

1–249

30.2

56.4

50.7

34.5

22.3

12.4

250–499

7.7

10.0

8.7

8.0

7.5

6.3

500–749

5.7

5.5

6.6

6.2

7.2

3.5

750–999

2.9

4.6

2.4

3.3

3.2

1.9

1,000–1,499

7.3

8.1

6.7

8.6

8.8

4.7

1,500–1,999

3.5

2.9

5.4

4.9

2.7

2.2

2,000–2,499

3.2

4.0

3.7

3.1

3.3

2.5

2,500–2,999

2.3

1.4

1.9

3.4

2.4

2.0

3,000–3,999

4.9

1.7

5.8

7.8

5.0

2.8

4,000–4,999

3.7

3.4

1.3

6.3

4.3

2.4

5,000–9,999

10.2

0

5.6

10.9

14.1

12.5

10,000–14,999

6.5

0.5

0.3

2.0

13.0

10.0

15,000–19,999

2.5

0

0

0.5

4.6

4.7

20,000–24,999

1.8

0

0

0.2

1.3

5.1

25,000–29,999

0.5

0

0

0

0

1.7

30,000–34,999

0.2

0

0

0

0

0.8

35,000–39,999

0.9

0

0

0

0

3.3

40,000–44,999

0.4

0

0

0

0

1.4

45,000–49,999

0.3

0

0

0

0

1.0

50,000 or more

4.9

0

0

0

0

18.2

Median family asset income (dollars)

1,154

170

200

771

1,661

8,127

Number (thousands)

6,472

615

1,056

1,425

1,634

1,741

Persons in 2-person families

Total percent

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Loss

0.6

0.6

0.3

0.5

0.6

0.9

1–249

22.9

44.5

37.5

28.5

18.6

9.0

250–499

6.1

11.9

7.2

6.2

6.0

3.9

500–749

4.6

8.6

6.1

4.4

4.1

3.2

750–999

3.4

5.8

3.6

5.0

3.4

1.5

1,000–1,499

6.2

4.2

8.6

7.4

6.5

4.5

1,500–1,999

4.0

6.0

5.5

3.6

3.9

2.9

2,000–2,499

4.6

3.1

7.3

5.3

4.8

3.1

2,500–2,999

2.6

2.3

3.1

3.2

2.5

2.1

3,000–3,999

4.7

3.6

4.3

5.9

5.5

3.8

4,000–4,999

4.2

3.6

4.0

5.6

4.9

2.9

5,000–9,999

11.5

4.0

9.8

13.5

13.4

11.6

10,000–14,999

6.3

1.4

2.0

6.8

8.8

7.5

15,000–19,999

3.9

0.3

0.4

2.8

6.4

5.4

20,000–24,999

2.3

0

0.3

0.8

3.6

4.0

25,000–29,999

1.6

0

0

0.2

2.0

3.5

30,000–34,999

1.1

0

0

0

1.5

2.5

35,000–39,999

1.0

0

0

0.4

1.5

2.0

40,000–44,999

1.0

0

0

0

1.0

2.6

45,000–49,999

0.8

0

0

0

0.5

2.1

50,000 or more

6.7

0

0

0

0.3

21.3

Median family asset income (dollars)

2,113

350

650

1,250

2,930

10,500

Number (thousands)

13,092

1,149

2,021

2,759

3,105

4,058

Persons in families of 3 or more

Total percent

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Loss

1.7

3.2

0.6

2.9

0.6

1.3

1–249

29.6

47.8

46.6

26.4

24.9

13.5

250–499

8.6

9.4

9.4

14.4

6.3

4.3

500–749

5.6

8.3

5.7

7.3

5.1

2.6

750–999

2.8

2.6

2.3

3.3

4.2

1.1

1,000–1,499

6.7

7.3

5.0

8.3

7.0

5.4

1,500–1,999

3.0

3.4

2.2

4.1

2.6

2.8

2,000–2,499

4.1

1.6

5.8

6.0

3.8

2.8

2,500–2,999

2.7

2.2

3.2

2.7

3.2

2.2

3,000–3,999

3.8

3.1

2.6

4.0

4.4

4.3

4,000–4,999

3.4

2.9

2.9

5.5

3.5

2.0

5,000–9,999

8.1

7.4

4.4

5.5

9.4

12.5

10,000–14,999

5.3

0.5

4.9

4.4

5.8

9.6

15,000–19,999

2.3

0.3

1.1

0.7

3.3

5.2

20,000–24,999

2.8

0

0.7

2.5

4.5

4.8

25,000–29,999

1.7

0

1.3

0.5

2.2

3.8

30,000–34,999

0.8

0

1.2

0.1

1.1

1.5

35,000–39,999

0.7

0

0.1

0

1.8

1.3

40,000–44,999

0.5

0.1

0

0.6

1.0

0.6

45,000–49,999

0.8

0

0

0

0.9

2.6

50,000 or more

4.7

0

0

0.9

4.5

16.0

Median family asset income (dollars)

1,036

200

337

729

1,817

8,940

Number (thousands)

2,978

451

463

667

769

627

NOTE: Per-capita family total money income quintile limits are $11,057, $16,072, $23,357, and $37,605.